Khumarinskoye gorodishche (Russian: Хумаринское городище) or Khumar is a ruined medieval fortress on the top of Mount Kalezh above the Kuban Gorge in the

Greater Caucasus The Greater Caucasus, ''Didi K’avk’asioni''; is the major mountain range of the Caucasus Mountains. It stretches for about from west-northwest to east-southeast, from the Taman Peninsula of the Black Sea to the Absheron Peninsula of t ...

, near Khumara village, Karachaevsky district,

Karachay–Cherkessia Karachay-Cherkessia (), officially the Karachay-Cherkess Republic, is a republic of Russia located in the North Caucasus. It is administratively part of the North Caucasian Federal District. As of the 2021 census, Karachay-Cherkessia has a popul ...

Russia Russia, or the Russian Federation, is a country spanning Eastern Europe and North Asia. It is the list of countries and dependencies by area, largest country in the world, and extends across Time in Russia, eleven time zones, sharing Borders ...

. The site was investigated in 1960 and 1962 by V.A. Kuznetsov after the slabs with runic inscriptions were found, but without excavations. In 1963 and 1964 archaeological expedition of Karachaevo-Cherkessky research institute, led by E.P. Alekseeva, conducted excavations in the site. She found out that under medieval strata lay those of 8-6 centuries BC. A. Gadlo and Kh. Bidjiev discovered in 1974 remains of defense system - towers, walls. The fortress, situated downstream from

Karachaevsk Karachayevsk (; , ''Qaraçay şaxar'') is a town in the Karachay-Cherkess Republic, Russia, located on the Kuban River in the Caucasus Mountains. Population: History It was founded in 1926 as Georgiyevskoye settlement and by the resolution of the ...

and formerly accessed only by ladder, occupies some forty hectares on top of a large plateau. The high walls, with twelve bastions, were pierced by a single 5-metre-wide gate. The fortifications are supposed to have been constructed either by the

Khazars The Khazars ; 突厥可薩 ''Tūjué Kěsà'', () were a nomadic Turkic people who, in the late 6th century CE, established a major commercial empire covering the southeastern section of modern European Russia, southern Ukraine, Crimea, a ...

or by the

Bulgars The Bulgars (also Bulghars, Bulgari, Bolgars, Bolghars, Bolgari, Proto-Bulgarians) were Turkic peoples, Turkic Nomad, semi-nomadic warrior tribes that flourished in the Pontic–Caspian steppe and the Volga region between the 5th and 7th centu ...

in connection with the Khazar-Arab Wars. The site is rich in pseudo-runic inscriptions, an evidence of early medieval Turkic occupation by tribes of the

Saltovo-Mayaki Saltovo-Mayaki, also known as Saltovo-Majaki or simply Saltiv, is the name given by archaeologists to the early medieval culture of the Pontic steppe region roughly between the Don and the Dnieper Rivers, flourishing roughly between the years ...

cultural group. Most of the inscriptions were heavily damaged by locals and are illegible. Among the more controversial finds from the site was a folding, modular

altar An altar is a table or platform for the presentation of religion, religious offerings, for sacrifices, or for other ritualistic purposes. Altars are found at shrines, temples, Church (building), churches, and other places of worship. They are use ...

unearthed in the area. Scholars at the archaeological museum in

Rostov-on-Don Rostov-on-Don is a port city and the administrative centre of Rostov Oblast and the Southern Federal District of Russia. It lies in the southeastern part of the East European Plain on the Don River, from the Sea of Azov, directly north of t ...

asserted that the altar was part of a Khazar Jewish shrine built in imitation of the Biblical ''

mishkan According to the Hebrew Bible, the tabernacle (), also known as the Tent of the Congregation (, also Tent of Meeting), was the portable earthly dwelling of God used by the Israelites from the Exodus until the conquest of Canaan. Moses was instru ...

''.Brook 113. In the 9th and 10th centuries, it was the site of a populous town, mentioned in Byzantine and Georgian sources as Skhimar (Russian: Схимар). It is believed that St.

Maximus the Confessor Maximus the Confessor (), also spelled Maximos, otherwise known as Maximus the Theologian and Maximus of Constantinople ( – 13 August 662), was a Christianity, Christian monk, theologian, and scholar. In his early life, Maximus was a civil se ...

was held there during his exile to the

Caucasus The Caucasus () or Caucasia (), is a region spanning Eastern Europe and Western Asia. It is situated between the Black Sea and the Caspian Sea, comprising parts of Southern Russia, Georgia, Armenia, and Azerbaijan. The Caucasus Mountains, i ...

. Within four kilometers from the fortress stands the

Shoana Church The Shoana church (, ) is a Christian church that belongs to the historical Alanian Diocese. The church was built at the end of the tenth century, and is located on the territory of modern Karachay-Cherkessia Republic, Russia. The building has a ...

(ca. 925), first described by

Abraham Firkovich Abraham (Avraham) ben Samuel Firkovich (Hebrew - ''Avraham ben Shmuel''; Karayce: Аврагъам Фиркович - ''Avragham Firkovich'') (Sept. 27, 1786–June 7, 1874) was a famous Karaite writer and archaeologist, collector of ancient ...

in 1848. The town was destroyed by

Tamerlane Timur, also known as Tamerlane (1320s17/18 February 1405), was a Turco-Mongol tradition, Turco-Mongol conqueror who founded the Timurid Empire in and around modern-day Afghanistan, Iran, and Central Asia, becoming the first ruler of the Timuri ...

during his invasion of the

Golden Horde The Golden Horde, self-designated as ''Ulug Ulus'' ( in Turkic) was originally a Mongols, Mongol and later Turkicized khanate established in the 13th century and originating as the northwestern sector of the Mongol Empire. With the division of ...

in 1396.

Notes

References

* Brook, Kevin Alan. ''The Jews of Khazaria'', 2d ed. Rowman & Littlefield, Inc., 2006. * Ya'ari, Ehud. "Skeletons in the Closet." ''The Jerusalem Report''. Vol 6, No. 9, September 7, 1995. pp. 26–30.

External links

Official website of KarachaevskViews of the ruins

{{coords, 43, 52, 4.87, N, 41, 55, 26.35, E, display=title Khazar towns Forts in Russia Archaeological sites in Russia Buildings and structures in Karachay-Cherkessia History of Kuban Former populated places in the Caucasus Saltovo-Mayaki culture